Ask Congress to Improve the Lives of Children Worldwide

Despite significant progress in children's health over the past few decades, 25,000 children under five years old still die from mostly preventable causes each day. With the current global financial crisis, vulnerable newborns and young children face greater challenges than ever. To improve child survival, we need your help.

In partnership with the U.S. Government and the American people, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has helped cut the world's child mortality rate in half since 1960, proving that progress for children is possible. But UNICEF now has a much larger goal: reducing the number of child deaths from preventable causes to ZERO.

To make progress toward this ambitious goal, more resources are needed.

Each year the U.S. Government makes a contribution to UNICEF as part of America's global investment in children. This annual contribution to UNICEF's regular budget is critical to UNICEF's work in child survival and development.

With bipartisan support, Congress provided a contribution to UNICEF of $130 million for this fiscal year-the highest U.S. contribution ever to UNICEF.

Because of the current global financial crisis, UNICEF's important work is even more crucial to child survival. That is why for FY 2010, we will ask the U.S. Congress to invest $135 million in UNICEF to help save children's lives and protect their futures.

To gain the needed support in Congress, WE NEED YOUR HELP. Please urge your Members of Congress to support expanded funding for UNICEF today!

Letter to

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

For more than 60 years, in partnership with the U.S. Government and the American people, UNICEF has made an enormous difference in saving children's lives and protecting their futures. With U.S. support, UNICEF helped cut the world's child mortality rate in half since 1960, proving that progress for children is possible even in poor countries, with political will, sound strategies, and funding.

Sadly, however, in too many poor countries and communities around the world, too many children do not survive. Every year, 9.2 million children under five years old die from mostly preventable causes. Pneumonia and diarrhea alone account for a third of all child deaths. Children are most at risk in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 22 per cent of global births, but almost half of under-five deaths.

Along with UNICEF, I believe that number should be ZERO.

To make this vision a reality, and protect the vulnerable during times of need, I urge you to support expanding UNICEF's funding from Congress from $130m in FY 2009 to $135m in FY 2010.

This is a small price to pay to protect and improve children's lives around the world and I hope you will join me in my support of UNICEF's work.